Okay, I am all in favor of making changes to the play...but the director I am currently working with is making things ridiculous!

I swear to you he has changed the blocking and where he wants the set pieces so much, that the stage manager and I (I'm assistant sm), have quit changing notes in our scripts and spiking things because we know they will change, and they do.

He has deleted, added, and re-inserted parts numerous times, to the point where he's never going to find people to work with in our theatre again.

We open tomarrow night, Friday Sept 9, and he is continuing to change things. Many times he will forget to tell us he's changed things as well.

Our light and sounds techs have only been coming to rehearsals for a week and a half and even they are at their wits ends because everytime they have a cue it's altered in some way. We had our first real dress rehearsal last night. Several sound cues were missing and almost all of the light cues had been tampered with. The night before the director sat in the booth and changed things.

This is only the 2nd community theatre play I have worked on, but the other techies I have spoken with say they have NEVER worked with a director like this before; is this something I need to expect and deal with or is this director going just a little too far?

Any tips or advice would be greatly appriciated.

Techie In The Black

Trust the theatre gods...

I worked with one director like that, as an actor, and prior to opening, he was still changing things almost  up 'till curtain. 

At the risk of incurring the wrath of the directors out there,(I apologize profusely in advance) if this director is changing things so much, he probably doesn't have a clue about what he has changed. 

Threrfore, once the curtain goes up, it is up to the actors to deliver the goods, regardless of how rough the road is.  I can assure you that, if the audience loves the show, the director will think he has been fabulous.  I am not, for a minute, proposing that actors pay no attention to the director or discard his directions,  because they have a view from the seats that is almost impossible to get from stage.  However, if you trust your fellow castmenbers, you will make it through, doing what comes naturally.  Tell the story!

o this is not what you should expect.  Most directors (read virtually all) are "professional" and have seen the blocking. cues, etc., in their mind, and have delivered their guidance well in advance of the opening, giving time for techies and cast to polish.  There will always be a few minor changes, but the will only enhance what is already there.

Trust the theatre gods...break a leg!  Tell us how the show went following opening.

The last play I worked on I was stage managing Laughing Wild and by this time we were tweaking minor things and having fun...but this is horrible. I guess the worst part is that I have not been able to breathe...I am running in 5-7 rehearsals a week and I've been doing this at the theatre since early April...kinda like being slammed up aganist a wall with knwowhere to go...and this continues until early November....

Not bad for a first time Stage Mgr, huh?

Before I started in April I had only done VERY minor things several years before in high school.

Smit

tristanrobin,

Thanks for the Merman story...needs to be remembered in every theatre. 

Shoot the SOB. 

Seriously, this should not be expected, encouraged, or tolerated.  a) the director shouldn't be making any major changes at or after tech, and b) there isn't a whole lot you can do about it, other than making sure the Board (or whoever approves directors at your theatre) knows what went on.

I agree with everybody else's advice:  roll with it the best you can, keep him the HELL out of backstage during perfs if at all possible (hiring armed security if necessary), and go drink heavily after opening night.  I almost said "during" opening night; use your own judgment about that.

Think of the great horror stories you'll have years from now, when the nervous tics and hysterical blindness have worn off!

Originally posted by tristanrobin are you suggesting that my MFA doesn't mean I know everything?????

I shall spare you the speculation I have occasionally heard as to what MFA really stands for.

I'm sure your MFA means the same thing as mine does!!! I know I don't know everything, but I'm close!!!!LOL

I

Gaafa, do they not have MFAs in Australia, or am I missing a joke in the translation?  (Babelfish doesn't have a 'Straine setting!)

MFA = Master of Fine Arts, a degree on a level with an MA, but (in theory at least) performance/production-oriented, as opposed to being a stepping stone to an acacemic career.

Occasionally an individual with an MFA will come into a community theatre setting and announce that he has a Theatre Degree and he is going to fix your crappy little theatre by showing you How It's Really Supposed To Be Done.  (Said theatre generally has a strong membership and has sold out 90% of its seats for ten years, but isn't Doing It Right.)

This person generally leaves after two seasons, with a large number of footprints on his backside.  His version, of course, is that he Can't Work Under These Conditions.

None of this applies to any of the fine people on this forum who have MFAs and are perfectly wonderful people, like Tristan and Shatcher, who do, in fact, know everything.

I think that is one thing that worries us. The director is VERY experienced? I was speaking with one of the actors and he said, ?Well, the director does know what he wants? and I said ?No, he know what he wants right NOW, not what he wants in the end.?

We found out that the director probably does not even like techies?he told our light tech he NEVER did any tech work because it just didn?t interest him?Uhh, okay?

Our director came backstage before we got there and lift us a note of encouragement? he asked about our usual traditions and we told him?typically you give the cast a pep talk and go mingle with the audience during wine tasting? Well, he gave literally a 10 second ?Break-a-Leg? to the cast and sat in the light booth the entire performance? it?s SOOO nerve racking and annoying. Oh, and if the prop gun was loaded, someone probably WOULD have shot him.

Oh, and sadly I must work tomorrow morning so I was unable to go to the after party? I was kind of sad?but my SM made sure to tell me she?d drink some for me, haha.

Anyway, we had to be an hour before our call today to fix some MORE things... the director even said he wanted some other things changed for tomarrow.... Uh, hello! We've already opened... If the changes we directly affecting me I would have said no more after opening or I walk...but their not.... I just don't understand why he would change things so dramatically after final dress.

Opening night went smoothly... at least our actors did not break any more glass...we have this set piece that rolls on and actors moving in...and they knocked off a glass lamp and I spent 1/2 the 1st scene trying to clean it up....

I HATE having actors move sets..I avoid it at ALLLLL costs...the SM and I were going to do it all ourselves, but it would take WAY too long...

Smit

I have only worked on one other show in community theatre and the other show we had 2 cast members and 4 tech...(so we had tech parties and invited the cast) Anyway, I only needed one person to help and he skipped out of the last few shows so the director, who was at every show, (first time she had directed) came back to help me. It was very hard for he to not be backstage because she has been an SM so around 20 years.....

But anyhow, the director wanted a spot light to run with curtain call, but at the rate he wanted it to go the light guy could not get to it fast enough, so I have to run up to the booth after my last scene change to run it....after the show last night the director came up and informed us that he would not be attending tomarrow and we were on our own... Awesome! We are more than capable of running the show by ourselves... I am the only rookie techie... Lights and the SM (husband and wife) have been doing theatre for around 20 years and our sound tech has done numerous show....

A few of the actors were talking one night and I found out that they nicknamed me Smit... (Stage Manager In Training) because I am working under such an experienced SM who is also a family friend.

 Anyway, things last night went fine with the director at least... though we did loose power to the booth, lobby, bathrooms and box office....yet the backstage and stage lights stayed up...though when our light tech re-booted the board they did go off and he had to hit a random, (luckly a general) cue...

Why is it that techies typically tell stories of things going wrong more than going right....?

Smit

I usually don't end up being super techie...I am usually the one flubbing up...hahaha....not that it happens THAT often...but I have had some minor things go wrong... and one big thing...

I was supposed to put this table/podium with crystals on stage and one of the actors spent a good deal of his monolouge talking about the crystals...so I had to set the podium and then take it out on stage during the run... lucky for me the actor didn't miss a beat...in fact he didn't even notice I came onstage and the camera taping the show completely missed me, hahaha.

Smit...

Dear Green Room Folks,

I feel for you MoonlightFlame and I agree with just about all of the advice you have been given. Yes your director is probably a little "green" and is doubting his or her choices (Set placement and all). Just chalk this show up as an experience-as I am sure the director will do- and take the lessons learned to your next show. Keep a positive attitude.

Now..in defense of directors-

This Job is probably one of the hardest with the most to gain and or loose but yet one which on the outside seems like a breeze. Changes do happen...new ideas, flash of inspiration, something that just didn't work...anything can create a need for changes. There does come a time however when, as a director, you have to find peace with your decisions and just let the show come to life on its own. A director will always look back on a show and see those things they would have tweeked...or made better- The trick is to let it go and that only comes with experience. Hopefull your director will have another chance to learn these things.

I feel for you, I really do.  This guy doesn't seem to care enough about the show (because anything you guys are doing can't be as good as it would have been had you had any time/sanity to rehearse it for a few weeks).  He is obviously finding out he has little talent and is scared.  His reaction is to keep changing until that magic moment suddenly appears to him. 

I'm sure you have done quite a lot as a stage manager trying to handle this monstrosity of a director and trying to the keep the cast and crew from walking out or committing murder.  In the future, please realize that the stage manager is not loyal to the director.  The stage manager is loyal to the producer and/or board of directors.  If you see this type of problem developing or another directorial problem, meet privately with the producer or board and let them know of the problem.  In the professional theatre, the stage manager is considered the spy of the producer.  Usually this part of the job extends to report designers and shops that are behind on technical deadlines, but very rarely a stage manager is forced to report a director.  Should this situation, or another similar one, occur, keep specific examples in your stage management journal and report the problem.  Go with the attitude that you want to preserve the integrity of the theatre as well as the show.  Try to squelch the frustration you are personally feeling, because the producer needs an unbiased report.

For now, you might want to involve the producer or board and insist on them freezing the show.  It's not great to go above the director's head, but sometimes you have to do it.